Florida's Pine Island Has Road Access Restored One Week After Battering by Hurricane Ian

Road access to Florida’s Pine Island has been reestablished ahead of schedule a week after the Category 4 Hurricane Ian killed more than 120 people in the state and caused widespread destruction.

Footage posted on Twitter by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on Friday, October 7, shows vehicles moving across a bridge that connects Pine Island – one of the hard-hit southwest barrier islands – to mainland Florida.

“The Florida Highway Patrol was proud to support the @MyFDOT and local partners as they restored road access to Pine Island – ahead of schedule. Incredible team effort,” the caption reads.

At least 120 people were killed by the hurricane in Florida, officials said. At least five people were killed in North Carolina, the state’s governor confirmed.

The rising death toll made Ian the deadliest storm to hit the state of Florida since the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, which killed more than 400 people, according to the National Hurricane Center. An estimated 135,000 Florida customers still had no electricity as of October 7. Credit: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles via Storyful

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